Pickle-splitter.



B. OTT.

PIGKLE SPLITTER.

APPLIOATION FILED APB.30, 1912.

Patented 31111610, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

,coLuMBlA PLANOGRAPH CO..WASHIVNGTON. D. c.

B. OTT.

Patented June 10, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PIGKLE SPLITTBR.

APPLICATION FILED APB.. 30, 1912.

BEN OTT, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

PICKLE-SPLITTER.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented June 19,1913.

Application filed April 30, 1912. Serial No. 694,046.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, BEN OTT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful improvement-s in Pickle-Splitters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to pickle splitters and has for an object to provide mechanism adapted to trim pickles to the requisite length for the package into which they are to be inserted and for removing the stems therefrom and also for splitting the pickles longitudinally.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device comprising longitudinally movable conveyers adapted to move pickles into engagement with a knife for trimming the ends and to deposit such pickles between adjacent endless conveyers which move the pickles into engagement with a stationary knife for splitting the pickles longitudinally.

With these and other objects in view the invention comprises certainnovel constructions, combinations and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed. v

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a view of the improved structure in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a view of the structure in end elevation, as indicated by arrow 2 of Fig. 1, certain parts being broken away to more clearly show the structure. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the splitting knife. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a knife lemployed for quartering instead of halving pickles.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The improved pickle splitter which forms the subject matter of this application comprises a frame 10, supporting shafts 11 and 12 j ournaled thereon and over which moves an endless carrier 13. rlhe carrier 13 is provided with slats 14 spaced apart to receive pickles, indicated, at 15, therebetween and move said pickles in the direction indicated by the arrow at Figs. 1 and 3 into engagement with the knife 16 inserted in a socket adjacent such carrier. At the edge opposite the knife a gage 17 is provided against which one end of the pickle abuts while the other end is being clipped by the knife 16. The shaft 12 receives motion from a shaft 13 through the medium of a belt or sprocket chain 19, the shaft 13 receiving power from any source as the motor 20.

At the discharge end of the carrier 13 a guide plate 21 is erected which guides the discharged pickle between conveyers 22 and 23 and by such conveyers the pickle is moved downwardly into engagement with the knife 24 for splitting, after which it is dropped into any convenient receptacle as the tub 25.

To maintain the conveyers 22 and 23 in resilient relation to engage the pickles a spring 26 is provided extending from one conveyer to the opposite conveyer and to insure the conveyers being properly spaced to at all times be equally distant upon opposite sides of the knife 24 a lever 27 is pivoted to a cross-bar 23 and has its opposite ends pivotally connected with links 29 and 30 which are in turn pivoted to the frames of the conveyers 22 and 23 and serve to hold such conveyers always properly spaced on opposite sides of the knife 24. To prevent the conveyers from at any time actually coming in contact the lower rollers over which said conveyers extend are provided with anges 31 and 32 which engage as indicated at Fig. 1 when there is no pickle between the lower ends of such conveyers.

The conveyers 22 and 23 preferably receive motion also from the shaft 18 by means of a belt 33 while the two conveyers are intergeared by means of gears 34 and 35.

To prevent the pickle being thrown beyond the conveyers as it is discharged from the carrier 13 a baffle 36 is erected which in conjunction with the guide plate 21 forms substantially a hopper to guide the pickle into and between the conveyers 22 and 23. The knife 24 is secured to the framing in any approved manner as by being provided with a tang 37 which is secured to bracket 38 at one side of the frame, as shown at Fig. 3. Instead of using the straight knife 24 which halves the pickles a quartering knife, as shown at Fig. 5, is provided which has a depressed center indicated at 39 into which the point of the pickle will drop by reason of the formation of such knife to insure the proper longitudinal slitting of such pickle into quarters.

It is perfectly apparent that in operation the motor being directed as indicated at Fig. 1 the carrier 13 will move in the direction indicated by the arrow at Figs. 1 and 3 carrying the pickle along the guide 17 into engagement with the knife 16 whereby the extremity is clipped and later deposited upon the guide 21. F rom the guide 21 the pickle drops between the conveyers 22 and 23 by which it is engaged as it moves downwardly, the space between such conveyers becoming less and by the conveyers forced over .the knife 24 whereby the pickle is split either in halves by the knife 24 or in quarters by the knife shown at Fig. 5.

I claim:

1. In a pickle splitter, rollers journaled in spaced relation having substantially parallel axes, gears carried by the rollers and intergearing with each other, frames depending from the axes of the rollers, other rollers carried at the lower ends of the frames, conveyers passing over the rollers of like frames, a knife located at the lower end of and between the conveyers and means to provide equal movement of the conveyers away from the knife.

2. In a pickle splitter, a frame, rollers journaled upon the frame in spaced relation and with substantially parallel horizontal axes, conveyers depending from the aXes of the rollers and movable thereon as centers, gears carried by the rollers intergearing with each other, means to apply power to one of the rollers to move the conveyers in complementary directions, a knife located between the lower ends of the conveyers and means insuring a similar movement of the conveyers away from the knife.

ln testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BEN OTT. lVitnesses:

PEROY N. BooTH, R. A. MoDowELL.

Copies of this 'patent mav be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

